Chapter 247: Bargains On Black Sand

Cyrus’s knees hit black sand, obsidian scales scraping volcanic rock as his body folded into submission.

The position burned through him—ancient, instinctual, and wrong in ways that had nothing to do with pride.

Elias circled slowly, boots leaving deliberate prints in disturbed sand.

"I pity you."

The words landed soft. Almost gentle.

Worse than mockery.

"Truly, Cyrus. Seeing you like this—the mighty Black Dragon, kneeling like some common hound—it’s almost heartbreaking."

Elias stopped directly in front of him, amber eyes reflecting moonlight and divine sigil-glow in equal measure.

"You have questions, don’t you? How I found this island. How I acquired the Royal Command Seal." He crouched, bringing their faces level. "How I knew you’d come here with your dying fox and the unhatched egg."

His smile sharpened into something colder.

"The answer’s simple, old friend. I know you."

Cyrus’s claws dug furrows into sand, fighting paralysis that had nothing to do with physical strength.

"I laid every piece of this game deliberately." Elias’s voice dropped lower. "You’re predictable, Cyrus. You always have been."

He straightened, boots crunching as he stepped back.

"Protective. Noble. Self-sacrificing to a fault." Elias gestured toward the villa, toward Kane’s cooling body. "You’d destroy yourself for creatures you love. Makes you remarkably simple to manipulate."

The Royal Command Seal pulsed behind him, burning brighter.

"Now then. Let’s discuss what happens next."

Cyrus laughed.

Not the strangled sound of someone broken—cold, sharp, cutting through humidity like a blade across flesh.

"You truly have improved since your time at Veyr Corp."

His voice carried none of the warmth Elias seemed to expect, none of the rage from moments before.

"Your pack should be proud of what you’ve managed to achieve."

Elias’s expression flickered. Triumph cooling into something harder, flatter—the look of someone who’d anticipated despair and received indifference instead.

"You’re mocking me."

"Am I?" Cyrus lifted his gaze, crimson eyes burning through the paralysis locking his body. "Then let me be clear."

He shifted forward slightly, sand scraping beneath his knees.

"Kill me."

The words landed simply. Final.

"Let me die. I’ll join Kane wherever souls burn out, and you’ll have everything—Veyr Corp, my assets, my territories." His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "Every vault code. Every hidden account. All of it yours if you grant me this single mercy."

Elias went utterly still.

"You’re serious."

"Completely."

Silence stretched between them, broken only by surf against volcanic rock.

"You can have my body after." Cyrus’s voice remained steady, clinical. "Drain every drop of blood. Use me as your vessel for whatever resurrection ritual you’ve designed. Experiment however you wish."

He met Elias’s gaze without flinching.

"I won’t resist. Just make it quick."

Elias studied him for three heartbeats, amber eyes searching for deception.

"Very well."

He raised one hand, claws extending from fingertips with liquid grace.

"I’ll grant you what you wanted."

Cyrus closed his eyes.

Kane. I’m coming.

The pressure from the Royal Command Seal intensified, forcing his head back and exposing the vulnerable line of his throat.

Elias’s shadow fell across him.

Claws descended—

Stopped.

Millimeters from skin.

Cyrus’s eyes snapped open.

Elias was laughing.

Not the controlled sound of someone savoring victory, but genuine amusement that shook his shoulders and crinkled the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, Cyrus." He withdrew his hand, claws retracting. "You actually believed I’d be that merciful."

The laughter deepened.

"Did you truly think I’d waste centuries of planning just to give you the easy death you’re begging for?" Elias crouched again, smile widening. "You’re far more useful alive than dead."

He tapped one finger against Cyrus’s forehead.

"And we have so much work ahead of us."

Cyrus’s jaw locked.

Elias straightened, dusting sand from his coat.

"Now then. Let’s discuss what happens to your precious fox."

Cyrus snarled—obsidian scales rising like sharpened armor along his spine.

"Leave. Kane. Alone."

The words tore from his throat like broken glass, each syllable dripping with barely contained violence.

Elias’s grin widened.

He snapped his fingers once—a crisp sound that cracked across the beach like a gunshot.

The air split open behind him.

Not reality tearing this time, but a dozen dimensional rifts blooming simultaneously, each one birthing a massive synthetic raven identical to the one perched on volcanic rock.

Metal wings unfolded with mechanical precision. Glyph-eyes ignited in perfect unison, bathing black sand in eerie luminescence.

"Allow me to introduce Raven Prototype Model IX," Elias said, gesturing toward the assembled flock with theatrical pride. "My finest work. A spirit-machine hybrid that even the BSA couldn’t detect."

He tilted his head, amber eyes gleaming.

"Beautiful, aren’t they? Part necromancy, part engineering. All mine."

The ravens launched skyward in perfect formation, wings slicing through humid air.

They banked hard toward the villa, talons extended.

Cyrus lunged forward—

The Royal Command Seal flared brighter, invisible chains slamming him back into submission.

His knees hit sand again, muscles seizing as ancient magic overrode every desperate instinct screaming through his body.

The ravens crashed through the destroyed window. Glass that hadn’t already shattered exploded outward in glittering cascades.

Two descended on the obsidian egg case, talons clamping around reinforced handles.

Four more converged on the bed.

On Kane’s motionless form.

They lifted him with disturbing gentleness—synthetic talons cradling limp limbs, supporting his lolling head—and carried him out into moonlight.

The flock descended onto black sand.

They deposited their cargo with precision: the egg case first, then Kane’s body beside it.

Silver hair splayed across volcanic rock, pale skin washed gray by moonlight.

Cyrus could only watch, paralyzed, as everything he’d failed to protect landed at Elias’s feet.

Elias stepped between Cyrus and Kane’s body, hands raised in mock surrender.

"Don’t overreact."

Cyrus’s snarl died in his throat, fury colliding with confusion.

"I’m not your enemy here." Elias gestured toward Kane’s pale form. "In fact, I’m offering you exactly what you want."

He crouched beside the obsidian egg case, running one finger along its surface.

"Help me forge the Eternal God Crystal. Willingly. And I’ll spare enough power to resurrect your fox." His amber eyes lifted. "I’ll even provide the energy needed to hatch this little one."

The Royal Command Seal’s pressure eased slightly.

"You get Kane back. The hatchling lives. Everyone wins."

Elias straightened, extending one hand toward Cyrus.

"So. Do we have a bargain?"